Condo law set for more debate in January

Condo law set for more debate in January

By Myat Nyein Aye   |   Monday, 08 December 2014

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A draft Condominium Law will be re-submitted to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw in January, a member of the lower house said last week.

Amyotha Hluttaw member U Phone Myint Aung said during parliament last week that there has been disagreement between the upper and lower houses of parliament over the bill.

“When the two houses rewrite drafts it takes some time to reach agreement before it can be submitted to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw,” he said. “If the upper and lower houses still cannot decide, then a decision will be made in the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.”

The draft was rewritten before it was submitted to the Pyithu Hluttaw in June 2014 because some aspects of the bill were not in agreement with the law, said U Saw Hla Htun, the representative of Chaung Oo township, Sagaing Region, in the Pyithu Hluttaw.

“We have discussed and rewritten the law,” he said. “So many things have been rewritten because some aspects of it are not related. After we rewrote those components the bill was submitted to the Amyotha Hluttaw,” he said.

A key point of criticism from the Amyotha Hluttaw was that the law must state that condominiums must be collectively owned.

“We want more emphasis on collective ownership, which is more important to us than the height that condominiums are built, what size of land plots they are built on or what facilities they must include,” said U Phone Myint Aung.

“The definition of ‘condominium’ in many countries is that they are collectively owned.”

He added that collectively owned condominiums would allow the owners to use their properties as collateral and apply for mortgages, which is not allowed at present because apartment owners do not own the land under their buildings.

“When the law is passed, condo ownership will be assured if the development is collectively owned,” he said.

Daw Khin Mi Mi Htwe, deputy director of the Department of Law at the Department of Human Settlement and Housing Development, under the Ministry of Construction, said the ministry had been clear what it wanted when it prepared the draft law.

“When the ministry drew up the first draft, we discussed what aspects the law needed to include,” she said. “We intended that condo owners would have ownership rights and that foreigners would be allowed to own a percentage of buildings. We wanted this law to meet international

standards.”

She added that if the two houses of parliament cannot reach agreement, the draft would be sent to the combined houses to be decided by a vote.

U Than Myint, chair of the Committee for Quality Control of High-rise Building Projects (CQHP), said the Condominium Law is of national importance and could bring a new wave of secure and comfortable housing.

“The condominium law is important for the nation but it must be written carefully, so the law will be effective,” he said.

He added that when the law is passed, the responsibility for enforcing it would fall to state- and region-level bodies that include the DHSHD, Yangon City Development Committee and others.

“The relevant regional governments need to be decisive. If not, the condominium law won’t be beneficial to the public,” he said.

U Ko Ko Htwe, chair of Taw Win Family Construction, said a law governing the sale and transfer of apartments is more important than a condominium law.

“The ministry should be drawing up a law concerning apartment sales because many apartments are owned insecurely. Encouraging people to legally transfer apartments and register the sales with the government would bring additional tax revenue and make increase ownership security.”